Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Thomas Søndergård conductor

Elizabeth Leonskaja piano

Usher Hall 25/10/24

 Sublime Musicmaking

 There is a game played in magazines and on television which can while away an hour or two of one’s time. It looks for the GOAT in sports, acting, writing etc, the GOAT signifying the Greatest of All Time. Whether it’s Federer, Nadal or Djokovic in tennis, Messi, Pele, Cruyff or Maradona in football, the Beatles, The Stones or Pink Floyd among groups, it’s an entirely subjective but hugely enjoyable enterprise.

When you emerge from a performance of Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto such as we heard on Friday night in the Usher Hall, it would take a brave man or woman to argue for any composer other than dear old Ludwig as GOAT! Such perfection transports one to a totally different plane of existence, a welcome respite in our troubled times. More of that later.

It has been three weeks since the last RSNO concert in Edinburgh, the magnificent opening performance of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, which itself is a candidate for GOAT among symphonies! It was pleasing to see a full Usher Hall again for this concert of music from the Classical Period, featuring Haydn and Beethoven, with a tasty appetiser in the overture to the opera, L’Amant Anonyme’ by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

I was aware of this extraordinary figure from the second half of the 18th century, but hadn’t heard any of his music live. Joseph Bologne was born on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean in 1745, the son of a wealthy white plantation owner, Georges Bologne de St-Georges, and an African slave girl called Nanon. Although married, Bologne acknowledged Joseph as his son and gave him his name, and eventually brought him to Paris to be educated. First showing prowess as a fencer of immense skill, the young Joseph soon made a name for himself as a violinist of note, and, despite the inevitable racism of the time, he became a successful player, conductor and composer. He wrote several operas, most of which have been lost, but his opéra-comique ‘L’Amant Anonyme’ (the Anonymous Lover) was premiered in Paris in 1780, and was well received. It was the overture to this opera that we heard at the beginning of the concert, and it was rather fine. The RSNO was reduced to a tiny fraction of what we had seen three weeks before in the Mahler, but as usual, the playing was superb. The overture is in three parts, with quick outer movements framing a slower middle section.

Joseph Bologne became a chevalier in the King’s bodyguard, adopting his father’s name, and it was under that name that he was instrumental in the commissioning of a set of symphonies from Joseph Haydn in 1784/85. The actual commission was from the Comte D’Ogny, who played cello in the orchestra for which the symphonies were written, the Concert de la Loge Olympique, and the Chevalier was the conductor.

We heard one of those symphonies in the Usher Hall, no 82 in C Major, conducted by our own Thomas Søndergård. It was nicknamed ‘The Bear’ not long after it was first performed in Paris in 1787, so-called because of the final movement, which is a dance-like piece, played over a drone bass and reminiscent of the tunes to which captive bears would dance for the spectators’ amusement, accompanied by bagpipes (cornemuse in French, Dudelsack in German) across Europe. Different times! Apparently, the original orchestra played in full dress coats, wearing swords, which presumably they would need a couple of years later as the French Revolution overwhelmed the country.

The first three movements were very pleasant, permitting the RSNO wind section to show their prowess, and introducing drums and trumpets for grander effects. I’ve always felt a bit sorry for Haydn, coming as he does historically and to a certain extent musically, between Mozart and Beethoven, two of the greatest geniuses ever. His star, although sparkling brightly, was inevitably overpowered by the radiance of the other two. Had he lived at any other time, we would rave about his music more, I believe. Fortunately, the wit and elan of the final bear-dance movement elevated this symphony above the humdrum, and we wandered into the interval energised, and prepared for the delights to follow.

What followed was a magisterial performance of Beethoven’s last piano concert, No 5, the so-called Emperor, with the sublime Elisabeth Leonskaja as soloist. Born in Tbilisi in 1945, she won the Enesco International Piano Competition in Bucharest in 1964, and has had a starry career ever since. She moved to Vienna in 1978, and still lives there, pursuing a busy career all over the world. Her technique shows no sign of deterioration, and her musicianship is fantastic. It was a great thrill to hear one of the, as it were, old school playing Beethoven, and one could only marvel at the quality of her interpretation and the purity of her sound. Whether speeding up and down the keyboard, crashing out magnificent chords, trilling sweetly or moulding a melody with infinite finesse, Ms Leonskaja was alert to every nuance in Beethoven’s brilliant score. First performed in Leipzig in 1811, the first of his concertos not premiered by the now very deaf composer, it was an immediate success and has remained as one of his most renowned works ever since. From the grand chords which introduce the opening movement, through the lengthy unveiling of the main themes and their development, and the interaction between soloist and orchestra, Ms Leonskaja and the RSNO took us on a journey which, although well-known to many in the audience, seemed newly minted and explored, teeming with felicities. Mr Søndergård and Ms Leonskaja seemed instinctively to understand what Beethoven was searching for, and this made the audience’s experience even more wonderful. The adagio second movement, dangerously but beautifully slow, was perfection, and the Usher Hall Steinway has rarely glowed so beautifully, caressed by Ms Leonskaja’s fingers. It was fascinating to watch her play, as all the movement and passion came through the arms and the hands. Some of our younger pianists are so frenetic at the keyboard (not always a bad thing), but when you watch a mature player holding their body calm while the arms and hands take the strain, as it were, there is a serenity about the performance which is a thing of wonder. Even when she leapt into action for the joyous finale, it was a controlled leap!

The RSNO horns and woodwind were at their best in this concerto, revealing the magic of Beethoven’s score in all its finery.

I go back to my tongue in cheek GOAT award to Beethoven, in the full knowledge that many people will disagree with me, but for my part, he is the greatest, and the Emperor Concerto (no-one is quite sure why it has been given that nickname – it certainly wasn’t Beethoven!) is one of his finest creations. A sublime concert indeed!

Photo credit: www.marcoborggreve.com